CLEMSON — After another uninspired loss, this one to Syracuse, Clemson’s football season is currently dead in the water.
This time, there was no argument to be made from Dabo Swinney that his team was one or two plays away. The Orange downright dominated from the opening kickoff, knocking off the Tigers 34-21. And let’s not forget that Clemson was a 17.5-point favorite.
A Syracuse team that hadn’t really run the ball all that well over its first three games ran it at will over the first two quarters, accumulating 123 rushing yards in the first half while averaging 6.5 yards per carry. The Orange ran it right at and then over Tom Allen’s defense. Let’s also remember this is a team that couldn’t even rush for 50 yards against UConn.
No Juice
It was evident very early that one team wanted it more than the other. Syracuse players were lively during the pregame, while Clemson players seemed to be just going through the motions. There was just no juice. The Tigers basically looked beaten before the game even started. There wasn’t even much emotion while running down the hill. The team looked beaten before the game even started. Whatever buttons Swinney is trying to push, he’s just not been able to find the right one.
Mistakes, Mistakes, Mistakes
While this team may be littered with upperclassmen and with guys who have played a lot of football, they certainly don’t play that way. The offense can’t get out of its own way in the game’s biggest moments, and the defense flat-out got bullied on Saturday.
I lost count of how many passes were dropped. Bryant Wesco, Antonio Williams and TJ Moore each were responsible for at least one. Cade Klubnik is still late on a lot of his throws. On one play, all the blocking up front was set up on the right side of the field, like a screen was being set up for Adam Randall, only for Klubnik to throw the ball in the opposite direction, away from the blocks being set up.
Then there are some of the questionable play calls. Third and one, and then fourth and one, still early in the third quarter, and Garrett Riley dials up passing plays both times. Adam Randall averaged more than eight yards per carry against a Syracuse run defense that wasn’t all that great against the run coming in, and you’re not handing it to him in those situations? That is almost criminal. Oh yeah, and both those pass attempts from Klubnik were incomplete, and the Tigers turned it over on downs. The fact that Randall only had eight first-half carries is hard to fathom.
All that and we haven’t even got into the rotations. Tristan Smith is still barely seeing the field, despite all the drops from the players in front of him on the depth chart, and even though he showed more heart on one of his two receptions than a lot of guys did throughout the entire game.
We are four games in, and none of the running backs behind Randall are getting opportunities. It appears the staff did not learn its lesson last year when they had no one ready behind Mafah. If Randall were to get hurt, this team would be in a world of hurt.
With the amount of experience on this team and with some of the coaches on this staff, there’s no reason we should still be seeing this many issues four games in.
Bye Week Blues
It’s going to be extremely hard at this point to keep this team bought in. This new era of college football, where a lot of these guys are getting paid big bucks, probably makes the leash longer for some of these players when they are underperforming. However, it’s time for some serious soul searching, and if there are players in that locker room not playing up to their capabilities, maybe it’s time to give some other guys a shot. There’s nothing to lose at this point.
Swinney has never started a season 1-3, so he is kind of entering uncharted territory. Can he get this team back on the right track and lead them to a respectable finish, or are we witnessing the beginning of the end?
Photo by Bart Boatwright